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Curling was educated at Seneca College and at York University in Toronto. He began working as an educator in 1972, and served as President of the World Literacy of Canada organization from 1981 to 1984, as well as working in the Jamaican Canadian Association.

The Liberals formed a minority government after this election, and Curling was appointed Minister of Housing on June 26, 1985.[2] He was the first Black Canadian to hold a cabinet-level position in Ontario. During his time as minister of Housing, he expanded the parameters of Ontario's rent control program, and announced a $500 million initiative for new urban housing. Curling was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 1987,[3] and was appointed Minister of Skills Development on September 29, 1987.[4] He served in this capacity until August 2, 1989, when he was dropped from cabinet.[5]

In December 1995, he gained notoriety for his 18-hour filibuster-like protest against the Mike Harris government's Omnibus Bill 26. When Curling was ordered expelled from the legislature refusing for to vote, he was ordered by the speaker to leave the chamber. He refused to leave his seat, and a knot of fellow Liberal and NDP opposition members formed a cordon around him to prevent his physical removal. The standoff lasted throughout the night and into the next morning when the house was adjourned. Reports stated that when legislature staff saw Frances Lankin, NDP MPP and a former prison guard, among the cordon, they backed off. Curling claimed his protest was meant to highlight a lack of public consultation in the Harris government's bill. The incident led to a discussion amongst the party house leaders and an agreement was reached to review the bill clause by clause.[9]

The Liberals returned to power following the provincial election of 2003, and Curling was elected Speaker of the Legislature without opposition on November 19, 2003.

Curling soon faced criticism over how objectively he was performing his duties as Speaker. Opposition MPPs, including New Democrat Peter Kormos and Conservative John Baird, suggested that Curling favoured his Liberal colleagues, sanctioning Conservative and NDP members for behaviour he would more often let slide from Liberals. Curling had also been criticized for attending Liberal Party fundraiser while Speaker as previous Speakers had avoided attending such events. In late March 2005, Kormos announced plans to introduce a resolution calling on Curling to resign from the post, and it was rumoured Conservatives were considering a similar call.

Curling resigned his seat in the Legislative Assembly on August 19, 2005, to accept a diplomatic posting as Canada's ambassador to the Dominican Republic. He was recalled from this position in 2006 following the defeat of the federal Liberal government.[10]

Curling held a position as Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario, from June 2007 until May 2010. He also served as Co-Chair of the Premier's Task Force on the Review of the Roots of Youth Violence. In the mid-2000s, Curling was honoured by the government of Jamaica with a Rank of Distinction. He holds the title of Commander. In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario for having "played an important role in shaping government policy addressing youth violence".[11]